Illuminating
and very timely . . . a fascinating and sometimes alarming survey of big
data s growing effect on just about everything: business, government,
science and medicine, privacy, and even on the way we think. "New York Times" It
seems like big data is in the news every day, as we read the latest
examples of how powerful algorithms are teasing out the hidden
connections between seemingly unrelated things. Whether it is used by
the NSA to fight terrorism or by online retailers to predict customers
buying patterns, big data is a revolution occurring around us, in the
process of forever changing economics, science, culture, and the very
way we think. But it also poses new threats, from the end of privacy as
we know it to the prospect of being penalized for things we haven t even
done yet, based on big data s ability to predict our future behavior.
What we have already seen is just the tip of the iceberg. "Big Data"
is the first major book about this earthshaking subject, with two
leading experts explaining what big data is, how it will change our
lives, and what we can do to protect ourselves from its hazards. An
optimistic and practical look at the Big Data revolution just the thing
to get your head around the big changes already underway and the bigger
changes to come. Cory Doctorow, boingboing.com"